Category: Articles

April 26, 2019

Provided by National Hog Farmer | Written by: Will Fombelle, DVM | April 2019 Oftentimes while summarizing a wean-to-finish closeout report, most producers will center their attention around metrics such as percent Grade A pigs, average daily gain and feed conversion rate. These metrics are very important to a producer’s bottom line; however a finishing production metric that does not get much publicity or attention is the “cost of feed per pound of gain.” When we compare “feed conversion rate” and “cost of feed

December 13, 2017

By Aaron Lower, DVM | November 2017 The industry is embarking on its fifth winter of managing porcine epidemic diarrhea virus and porcine deltacoronavirus. As we move into our seasonal epidemic, it is important to review the key exclusion and management principles that we have learned over the past five years. We have learned some hard lessons as an industry. Do not let time fade our memories and become complacent. Industry has made great progress Courtesy of the University of Minnesota and Dr. Bob Morrison’s

October 19, 2017

By Clayton Johnson, DVM | October 2017 For decades, we’ve lived with Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae (M. hyo) and have come to accept it as an endemic pathogen of swine. Heck, we even named it “enzootic pneumonia,” which implies this respiratory pathogen will forever hinder pig growth and producer profitability. Now is not the time to surrender and accept M. hyo as a fact of swine production. In fact, as respiratory challenges from other viruses continue to mount, the economic impact of M. hyo becomes even greater.

October 7, 2017

The Annual Conference held in Macomb, IL on Aug. 29 was the biggest one in the conference’s history. More than 689 registered. As part of the program, individuals, groups, and farms are recognized for excellence in swine operations through its Swine Awards of Excellence. This program is designed to highlight the year and provide shared enjoyment of the outstanding people we work with in the swine production business. Awards were presented by Dr. Joe Connor. Not pictured but receiving awards included: Kevin Avise (Good Neighbor), Riverview Orleans Finisher – Carie Nalley (Outstanding Finisher);

September 21, 2017

Taking a systematic approach to training and remaining humble can help reduce turnover and allow you to recuperate the initial investment in employee training many times over. By Neal Benjamin, DVM | September 15, 2017 Bringing new employees up to speed quickly and giving them tools they need to succeed long term is critical to the longevity of any business especially hog farming. Unfortunately hog farmers struggle to find quality skilled workers and despite offering competitive wages turnover remains a problem across

August 25, 2017

Uncovering the route of disease introduction into a negative population may be the most important step in PEDV elimination. By William Fombelle, DVM | August 25, 2017 Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has continued to greatly challenge the swine industry since its introduction into the American swine herd in May 2013. As we work through PEDV introductions in our wean-finish systems, it is important for producers to recognize that PEDV elimination is possible but does not come without the

August 17, 2017

Further studies on photoperiod and hormonal changes will be essential to fully understanding the impact of seasonal infertility, but interventions serve as an aid in reducing its impact. By Megan Schnur, DVM | July 21, 2017 Though swine are polyestrous, prior to domestication they were seasonal breeders. In North America pigs would become anestrous in the summer and early fall, presumably to avoid cold weather farrowing and reduce piglet mortality. Although clear evidence is lacking, these characteristics are thought to have been

June 16, 2017

It is essential that strategies of prevention and control ensure a sanitized and temperature controlled environment to achieve an appropriate balance between the environmental pathogen load and piglet immunity. By Attila Farkas, DVM | June 16, 2017 Neonatal piglet diarrhea is a very common and relevant problem in modern pig production. It is associated with increased pre-weaning mortality, poor growth rates and variation in weight at weaning. The newborn pig has an immature mucosal immune

May 19, 2017

The overarching goal of the common audit process is to provide consumers greater assurance of the care taken by farmers and pork processors to improve animal well-being and food safety. By Dyneah Classen, DVM | May 19, 2017 Harvest facilities (packers) have started third-party auditing requirements for hog farms supplying or marketing hogs to them. The audit programs initially varied by packer and were intended to assure consumers that the animals that produce their pork are well cared for

April 21, 2017

The cost of late mortality is significant in relation to early mortality. By Aaron J. Lower DVM | Apr 21, 2017 Much of the focus in wean-to-market pig production tends to be on getting weaned pigs placed, started on feed and going. That attention is warranted as we commonly observe early health issues coupled with the stress of getting pigs converted from milk-based to plant-based protein. In our race to get pigs to town, producers seem to shrug off late-finishing mortality in hopes of just getting to